24/7 Emergency Service
Common Causes of Commercial Building Fires
2/27/2017 (Permalink)
We should take care of our homes and families first, making sure safety features are in place to prevent traumatic events such as a house fire. We also need to apply the same passion and vigilance to public and commercial buildings where personal safety as well as someone’s livelihood could be at stake. Greater numbers of people can be placed in harm’s way when public and commercial buildings are rendered unsafe. Although many cases of commercial fires are the result of human error, there are still many other factors that may lead to a potentially deadly toll.
Arson
Arson is the leading cause of damages from fire in a workplace setting, resulting in harm to innocent victims as well as to the dedicated firefighters who answer the call. Often arson is instigated by the owner for the hope of collecting insurance on a failing business. Other reasons include a discontent employee or client seeking some kind of senseless and misdirected revenge.
Human Errors
Besides premeditated reasons, there are common careless human errors that lead to a fire. Common examples of poor judgment in the work place are leaving a cigarette unattended and leaving the coffee pot on. The possibility of having an incident increases with the number of employees in a work place.
Apparatus such as Water Heaters, Boilers and Furnaces
There are strict codes regulating the installation and maintenance of water heaters, boilers and furnaces and with good reason! The price is paid when these strict codes are not enforced and not followed properly. The mishandling of an installation and the lack of maintenance can ignite a fire in a building without warning. Equally important to remember is that storing combustible materials like chemicals, paper products and trash in the same area near equipment is a formula for trouble.
Electrical Fires
Electrical fires also are responsible for many building fires and often are the result of the misuse of an appliance. An appliance used for a purpose than what it was designed for or overloading circuits set the stage for a disaster. Another important reminder in regard to electrical fires is the high cost of hiring the cheaper unlicensed individual to do the electrical work. You are risking the possibility that the electrical work will not be done to code. Electrical code violations are most often committed by unreliable builders and workers resulting in severe consequences.
The 24-hour emergency services provided by SERVPRO Framingham and SERVPRO Newton / Wellesley come to your rescue with dependable water and fire damage training as well as with a wide range of knowledgeable expertise to help you through a difficult experience. Once the fire department leaves the scene, you are left with a nonfunctioning business suffering from water damage caused by firefighting efforts. We have the specialized fire and water damage restoration training, personnel, and equipment to handle fire and water damage and the ability to efficiently restore your business to pre-fire condition.